Transportation TIP List: Week of September 4th, 2016

Transportation TIP List: Week of September 4th, 2016

Autumn’s arrival brings shorter days, colorful foliage and pumpkin-spiced everything. But even if trendy lattes aren’t your beverage of choice, our first TIP List of the fall season is showcasing some of the trendiest transportation and supply chain topics. Below you’ll find details on the truck driver shortage, artificial intelligence and how the U.S. intermodal rail network is going to take on this year’s bumper crop harvest.

• Trucks Continue to Haul Most NAFTA Freight by Value, DOT Says: Trucks remained the most heavily-used mode for moving goods to and from the United States and its NAFTA trade partners. According to the DOT, trucks accounted for $31.2 billion of the $49.2 billion of imports, or 63.5%, and $29.4 billion of the $43.5 billion of exports, or 67.5%.

• Truck Driver Shortage Is A Shortage Of Imagination: In the U.S., the driver shortfall is estimated at around 50,000 drivers, and age distribution of the 850,000 currently on the road suggests it will get significantly worse in the next five to ten years. This problem is not new.

• Six Trends Impacting the Trucking Industry: From increasingly stringent fuel efficiency regulations to the regionalization of fleets, a number of trends continue to impact the North American trucking industry. Here’s a look at six of the top trends within the segment.

• AI May Take Over the World, But it Won’t Improve Forecasting: You may have heard that Stephen Hawking, and others, has warned that super-intelligent machines “could spell the end of the human race.” But before AI does take over the world, can supply chain practitioners use it to improve supply chain operations? Don’t hold your breath.

• US Intermodal Rail Network Primed for Expected Bumper Harvest: U.S. exporters are bracing for what could be another historic harvest this year, providing Western railroads with more intermodal cargo. The intermodal network is primed to accommodate that load, and healthy competition from markets overseas should relieve pressure on intermodal equipment demands.

• Make Port Dray Street-turns Mainstream to Reduce Supply Chain Costs: Shipping containers used in the import and export process are the building blocks of global trade. These same containers are also one of the most underutilized assets in the supply chain.

• Leaders of Change: Women in Supply Chain: In recent years, comany after company have launched initiatives to close the much-discussed supply chain talent gap. A key to closing the gap is recognizing and unleashing the untapped potential of women in today’s supply chain.

What are some of the trends that you’re watching as we head into fall?