Transportation TIP List: Week of August 31st, 2015

Transportation TIP List: Week of August 31st, 2015

As we turn the calendar to September and enjoy the last summer holiday, this week’s TIP List has us focusing on the latest trends in supply chain and logistics. From manufacturing and security to the success of future leaders and optimizing performance, we have the must read links below. Read on for all the great info!

• Improving Fleet Safety with On-Board Video: As businesses wrestle with managing a complex web of supply chain relationships and operational concerns, transportation safety must remain a key focus.

• Truckload Contract Prices are Rising, Report Says: Shippers are paying more to lock in trucking capacity as they anticipate a let-up in the driver shortage will prove temporary, analysts say. In a survey of 25 trucking companies, Stifel found that prices in contracts that lock in service for up to a year are up by low- to mid-single digit percentage points from a year ago.

•  U.S. Intermodal Hit 10 Week-High as Train Speeds Improve: U.S. intermodal volumes have increased to their highest level in more than two months. U.S. intermodal traffic for the week ending Aug. 15 rose 2.3 percent year-over-year to 276,443 units, according to the Association of American Railroads, the largest rail lobby in the U.S. That’s the most intermodal containers on rail since the week of June 13, when railways moved 283,363 units.

•  Survey Finds that Cybersecurity Incidents Rise as Supply Chain Risks Broaden: There’s no question that cyberattacks continue to escalate in frequency and scope. And manufacturing companies are at greater risk than ever as they share increasingly more processes and information with a widening constellation of supply chain partners.

•  Labels Aside, Companies Need Transparent Supply Chains: Officially called the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, the bill is the result of a growing push by consumers for more information about the contents of the products they buy. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would remove state-level authority to require companies to show when a food product contains genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs.

•  GDP Numbers Reveal Underlying Momentum, Possible Headwinds for U.S. Economy: Consumer, business and government spending helped propel better-than-expected U.S. growth in the second quarter of the year, a hopeful sign for an economy buffeted by overseas turmoil and sharp gyrations in equity markets.

•  ATA Urges Congress to Push for Law for Truck Driver Hair Testing Option: The American Trucking Associations (ATA) on Monday asked Congress to move forward with legislation that would allow fleets to use hair samples as part of a federally required program of drug screening for commercial drivers.

What transportation and supply chain topics are you reading up on this week?

Have questions, comments or other important TIP list topics? We’d love to hear them!