Transportation TIP List: Week of October 8th, 2017
Posted - October 11, 2017
With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up fast, supply chains across North America are gearing up for the surge of the holiday shipping rush. This week, the TIP List includes a serious haul of news and trends that will impact shippers and carriers alike during this year’s holiday peak season. From the upcoming “Operation Safe Driver Week” to holiday retail sales projections – the list below is right on time!
- Nationwide Week-Long Enforcement Spree Begins October 15th: Truck drivers should prepare for increased scrutiny by law enforcement during the week of October 15th as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance will embark upon its annual Operation Safe Driver Week, aimed at combating unsafe driving behaviors by truckers and passenger car drivers.
- Retail Trade Group Sees Holiday Sales Rising 3.6% to 4% This Year: Holiday retail sales in November and December—excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants—are expected to increase as much as 4% this year, reaching up to $682 billion, according to the NRF.
- NAFTA Talks Expose Disagreement Over Mexican Trucking Access: As efforts to renegotiate terms of the NAFTA agreement shift from Ottawa to Washington, two trucking industry groups and the Teamsters Union are taking aim at a provision in the current agreement that allows trucks from Mexico to operate in the U.S.
- An Aggressive, Four-Point Plan to Solve the Driver Shortage: The best approach to solving the driver shortage may require the freight industry to embrace and implement a four-part plan that focuses on young age groups to ensure a steady flow of skilled and energized individuals that see the profession in a new light.
- U.S. Truckload Spot Market Burns “Hot,” Fueled by Demand: An “abundance” of truckload freight fueled transactional load volumes on the U.S. spot market in July and August, signaling a strengthening U.S. economy and early start to a peak shipping season that typically gets underway in September and October.
How are you preparing your supply chain network for the upcoming holiday shipping season?
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