Transportation TIP List: Week of May 15th, 2016

Transportation TIP List: Week of May 15th, 2016

Having wrapped up our exciting 14th annual Shipper Symposium last week, we certainly have some timely transportation topics on our minds! The mindshare of everyone who attended the Shipper Symposium – spanning across the logistics, economics and supply chain industries – to share and learn was truly remarkable. Our TIP List this week continues to highlight some of the current trending topics in the industry as we move forward. Keep the logistics legacy going with the articles below!

• America’s Infrastructure $1.44 Trillion Short Through 2025: America will fall $1.44 trillion short of what it needs to spend on infrastructure through the next decade, a gap that could strip 2.5 million jobs and $4 trillion of gross domestic product from the economy.

• Drone Market Seen Nearing $127 Billion in 2020, Revolutionizing Transport Industry: Drones soon will be boosting crop yields, verifying insurance claims and assisting in Hollywood blockbusters in a business that’s due to boom by more than 6,000% by the end of the decade.

• IoT And Manufacturing: Can We Have One Without The Other?: The marriage of Manufacturing and IoT has been hailed as a revolution and declared as win-win. But with all this talk of marrying the two, we would be remiss not to heed the warnings that half of all marriages end in divorce.

• Packaging Productivity and Profitability: Important changes are prevalent in today’s packaging market dynamics, and the warehouse-centered model calls for different automation efficiencies than that of the conventional retail supply chain. And as a result, many consumer products require added packaging protection to prevent damage during shipment.

• FDA Issues Draft Guidance For Qualified Facilities Under FSMA Preventive Controls Rules: The U.S. FDA has published draft guidance to assist qualified facilities, such as very small businesses, in complying with the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule or the Preventive Controls for Animal Food Rule under the FDA FSMA.

• Diesel Prices Continue Upward Trend: For the fifth week in a row, diesel prices were on the upswing, increasing a half-cent during the week ending May 9, according to the Department of Energy’s weekly report. The average price of a gallon of on-highway diesel in the U.S. now stands at $2.271.

• March 2016 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI): The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, fell 0.9 percent in March from February, falling for the second consecutive month.

What industry trends were you intrigued by at this year’s Shipper Symposium?