For many years, “fall back” was a good thing. I could go to the bed at my normal time on Saturday night and enjoy an extra hour of sleep. Sure, it meant that the cold of winter was coming and that it would be dark by 4:30, but for one glorious day, I got to indulge in an extra hour of sleep. Unfortunately, that all changes once you have kids. For some reason, they do not understand the concept of extra sleep. Instead, they are hard wired to get up at the same time they usually do – only it’s now an hour earlier. But they don’t adjust after one day. I’m going on nearly a week of 5 am wake-ups now. At least the time change makes it feel like the winter and holiday seasons are coming, making the influx of Christmas-themed commercials at least a little more palatable.
And now, on to the news.
- Transplace acquires Logistics Management Solutions
- Pacific shippers say dock crew slow
- Amazon gives taxi deliveries a try
- Truck cargo theft activity increasing in Pacific Northwest
- Teamsters win another FedEx dispute
Transplace, which is owned by Greenbriar Equity Group, has bought Logistics Management Solutions (LMS), which is a third party logistics (3PL) provider. LMS has strong ties to the chemical and industrial manufacturing industries, which will help boost these areas for Transplace. While no financial terms were disclosed, LMS earned a spot on Inc. magazine’s ranking of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country.
“Acquiring LMS further supports our commitment and strategic plan to grow Transplace and build a competitive advantage for our company and our customers,” said Transplace CEO Tom Sanderson. “We are pleased to add LMS’s knowledgeable, experienced employees to our workforce. Bringing the LMS team on board allows Transplace to offer more services to its existing customers and to serve an entirely new set of customers, as well as continue to expand our presence in key verticals, such as the chemical industry.”
Since their contract expired back in June, Pacific Coast dockworkers negotiating a new labor agreement have begun a work slowdown in Seattle and Tacoma. The slowdown by members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union reduced container movement to 10 to 18 per hour from 25 to 35, the Pacific Maritime Association said yesterday. Most ports in Seattle and Tacoma are now experiencing delays, which does not bode well for the upcoming holiday season. While there has been an influx of imports over fears of a looming strike, if a deal is not settled soon, the holiday season, and the fate of many retailers, could be disastrous.
First there was Amazon Prime, with its free two day delivery. Then Amazon rolled out is private fleet of trucks for same day local delivery. Now, Amazon is testing deliveries via taxis in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Amazon is using the taxi-hailing mobile app, Flywheel, to ship parcels via licensed cabs. In its latest test, Amazon summoned cabs through Flywheel to distribution centers, from where they picked up as many as 10 packages bound for the same location at about $5 a package. With drones still facing a lot of scrutiny, maybe switching to taxis will pay off, especially as the holidays approach.
Washington State saw a record-breaking number of cargo thefts in the third quarter of the year along with a new tactics on the part of thieves, according to new report from the logistics security services provider FreightWatch International. There were a total of six incidents in the last 12 months, with four of these happening July through September. In addition, half of the thefts in Washington State during the quarter were multiple trailer thefts — one taking three trailers, and one getting away with four. This made the full truckload theft total nine in the quarter, 29% higher than the total number from 2010 through the second quarter of this year.
And finally, the Teamsters have scored another victory at FedEx, which is their second victory in the last month. Drivers at FedEx Freight’s New Brunswick, N.J., terminal voted last week to join the Teamsters Local 701 with a 66-42 vote, following drivers from the Croydon, Pa., terminal, who voted to join the union Oct. 14. The drivers are seeking job security and improved benefits, according to the Teamsters. After organizing started, FedEx increased wages by 80 cents an hour and scrapped a driver scorecard, the union added. FedEx is “offering pay raises and other improvements at the same time we are organizing, but the workers know that these things can be taken away just as quickly without a legally binding contract,” said Tyson Johnson, director of the Teamsters’ freight division.
That’s it for the news this week. As a nod to all the news from the Pacific Northwest, enjoy the song of the week, which was probably my first mind-blowing music experience, Nirvana’s Smells like Teen Spirit.
Leave a Reply