Archive for Statistics
Based on the popularity of last week’s version, we’ve decided to make this “news roundup” the focus of our Friday postings. Here is some of the news that crossed our desks (actually, our computer screens, email inboxes, iPhone, etc.) and caught our attention this week:
A “Buy American” Supply Chain
· CommentsCongress passed the $787 billion “stimulus bill” this weekend and President Obama is scheduled to sign it tomorrow. One item that made it into the final version of the bill, despite some opposition, is a “Buy American” provision that reads “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or… Continue reading
This Week in Supply Chain and Logistics
· CommentsIt must be like having a term paper hanging over your head every morning. This is the way one of my colleagues described the way I must feel when I sit down to write my daily post. On some days, this is an accurate description, but the challenge is not a lack of topics to write about. On the contrary, the main cause of my occasional bout with writer’s block… Continue reading
Global Trade Posts Negative Growth
· CommentsOver the past few years, if you were giving a presentation on supply chain and logistics, you were obligated to highlight “growth in global trade” as a key trend that created both challenges and opportunities for companies. Well, that’s one bullet item we won’t be seeing in presentations this year.
For a great overview of global trade activity over the past year, read the article that appeared on… Continue reading
If the transportation industry is a leading economic indicator, then the economy is still heading in the wrong direction. Consider these recently-reported statistics:
- According to the Association of American Railroads, U.S. rail carloads were down 8.2 percent in Q4 2008, down 14.2 percent in December, and down 16.percent in the week ending January 3 (all compared to the same periods in 2007). The sharp decline in
The morning sky is still dark as the plane takes off and I say goodbye to Kansas City. The “Technology Night” event went well last night, wrapping up just before the start of the Oklahoma-Florida football game (the reason why the event started at 4:00). I think my talk went well, even though it wasn’t PowerPoint free. In retrospect, giving up PowerPoint “cold turkey” probably wasn’t a realistic… Continue reading
Ryder, UPS, and Hybrid Trucks
· CommentsThis was not the topic I had planned to write about today. I was all set to comment on the data released this week by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (its Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 1.0 percent in October from its September level, but it’s down 0.6 percent from October 2007), and I was also going to highlight a report issued by the International Air Transport… Continue reading
Truck: How Today Moves
· CommentsThis morning the Bureau of Transportation Statistics announced that American industry shipped 13 billion tons of goods valued at almost $12 trillion in 2007. Not surprising, trucking remains the leading mode of transportation in terms of value (over $8.3 trillion, or almost 71 percent of the total), tons (close to 9 billion tons, or 69 percent of the total), and ton-miles (almost 1.4 trillion, or 40 percent of the… Continue reading
