Transportation TIP List: Week of December 6th, 2015

Transportation TIP List: Week of December 6th, 2015

There’s a frosty feel in the air this time of year, and while we know Santa Claus is busy making his list and checking it twice, we have our own list of trending transportation topics that you need to know this week. Read on for a little industry holiday cheer!

• The 12 Days Of Christmas’ For The Supply Chain: The countdown to the holidays is well underway, and as we inch closer by the minute, supply chain operations are gearing up in the hopes of creating lots of happy customers and little, if any, dissatisfied ones.

• FAST Act Highway Bill: What Trucking Measures Made It, What Didn’t: The final version of a long-term highway bill produced this week by a joint Congressional committee includes the industry-hoped-for removal from public view major components of the DOT’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability carrier scoring and ranking program.

• The Top Ten Logistics Viewpoints Posts of 2015: Just like last year, the Logistics Viewpoints team thought readers would be interested in seeing what 2015 posts obtained the most views over the year. It’s nice to see posts written throughout the year (not just the beginning of the year) on this list.

• How Innovations in Packaging are Preserving Products While Saving the Planet: We live in a throw-away world, which takes its toll on the environment, demonstrated by such realities as the tonnage of plastics — almost all from packaging — that inundates oceans. However, the “circular economy” invites product innovation and new business models in packaging.

• Top Flexible Packaging News of 2015: “Flexible packaging has been one of the fastest growing packaging sectors over the past 10 years, thanks to increased consumer focus on convenience and sustainability, and this rapid development will continue to accelerate,” according to The Future of Global Flexible Packaging to 2020 from Smithers Pira.

• Short Line, Port Associations to Collaborate on Intermodal Opportunities: The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and Inland Rivers Ports & Terminals Association (IRPT) recently entered into an agreement that outlines how the two entities will support mutually beneficial intermodal opportunities.

• NAFTA Trade Flows Respond to Fuel Prices, US Dollar: Lower Canada fuel prices, the strong U.S. dollar and the rise in Mexico imports are reshaping freight flows among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners, and Mexico may be the biggest beneficiary.

What’s topping your list of holiday transportation trends this week?