The International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) recently presented its 2012 Distinguished Service Award to Dale S. Rogers, professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management and co-director of the Center for Supply Chain Management at Rutgers University.
"Throughout his career Dale Rogers has contributed enormously to the progress and growth of the warehouse industry," said IWLA Immediate Past Chairman Linda C. Hothem, president of Pacific American Group. Hothem presented Rogers with the award during the IWLA Convention & Expo in San Francisco in March.
One of the factors that influenced IWLA's selection was Rogers' contributions to the association's new sustainability verification and education program. "He gave his time and knowledge, free of charge, to help IWLA establish its Sustainable Logistics Initiative," Hothem said at the award ceremony. "He has dedicated much of his personal and professional life to researching how to environmentally improve logistics processes."
In addition to his role at Rutgers, Rogers is the leader in sustainability and reverse logistics practices for Instituto De Logistica E Supply Chain (ILOS), and its sustainable supply chain research project, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers, Rogers was the Foundation Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management and the director of the Center for Logistics Management at the University of Nevada, Reno. He also held the Paper Foundation Visiting Eminent Scholar Chair of Logistics at the University of North Florida.
Rogers has consulted with many companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola, IBM, UPS, Menlo Logistics, and Genco Logistics, among others. Widely published in logistics journals, he is also the co-author of the recent book Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance and the first book about reverse logistics, Going Backwards: Reverse Logistics Trends and Practices. Rogers was also named a DC VelocityRainmaker in 2010.
Congestion on U.S. highways is costing the trucking industry big, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), released today.
The group found that traffic congestion on U.S. highways added $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022, a record high. The information comes from ATRI’s Cost of Congestion study, which is part of the organization’s ongoing highway performance measurement research.
Total hours of congestion fell slightly compared to 2021 due to softening freight market conditions, but the cost of operating a truck increased at a much higher rate, according to the research. As a result, the overall cost of congestion increased by 15% year-over-year—a level equivalent to more than 430,000 commercial truck drivers sitting idle for one work year and an average cost of $7,588 for every registered combination truck.
The analysis also identified metropolitan delays and related impacts, showing that the top 10 most-congested states each experienced added costs of more than $8 billion. That list was led by Texas, at $9.17 billion in added costs; California, at $8.77 billion; and Florida, $8.44 billion. Rounding out the top 10 list were New York, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Combined, the top 10 states account for more than half of the trucking industry’s congestion costs nationwide—52%, according to the research.
The metro areas with the highest congestion costs include New York City, $6.68 billion; Miami, $3.2 billion; and Chicago, $3.14 billion.
ATRI’s analysis also found that the trucking industry wasted more than 6.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 2022 due to congestion, resulting in additional fuel costs of $32.1 billion.
ATRI used a combination of data sources, including its truck GPS database and Operational Costs study benchmarks, to calculate the impacts of trucking delays on major U.S. roadways.
DAT Freight & Analytics has acquired Trucker Tools, calling the deal a strategic move designed to combine Trucker Tools' approach to load tracking and carrier sourcing with DAT’s experience providing freight solutions.
Beaverton, Oregon-based DAT operates what it calls the largest truckload freight marketplace and truckload freight data analytics service in North America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but DAT is a business unit of the publicly traded, Fortune 1000-company Roper Technologies.
Following the deal, DAT said that brokers will continue to get load visibility and capacity tools for every load they manage, but now with greater resources for an enhanced suite of broker tools. And in turn, carriers will get the same lifestyle features as before—like weigh scales and fuel optimizers—but will also gain access to one of the largest networks of loads, making it easier for carriers to find the loads they want.
Trucker Tools CEO Kary Jablonski praised the deal, saying the firms are aligned in their goals to simplify and enhance the lives of brokers and carriers. “Through our strategic partnership with DAT, we are amplifying this mission on a greater scale, delivering enhanced solutions and transformative insights to our customers. This collaboration unlocks opportunities for speed, efficiency, and innovation for the freight industry. We are thrilled to align with DAT to advance their vision of eliminating uncertainty in the freight industry,” Jablonski said.
Global trade will see a moderate rebound in 2025, likely growing by 3.6% in volume terms, helped by companies restocking and households renewing purchases of durable goods while reducing spending on services, according to a forecast from trade credit insurer Allianz Trade.
The end of the year for 2024 will also likely be supported by companies rushing to ship goods in anticipation of the higher tariffs likely to be imposed by the coming Trump administration, and other potential disruptions in the coming quarters, the report said.
However, that tailwind for global trade will likely shift to a headwind once the effects of a renewed but contained trade war are felt from the second half of 2025 and in full in 2026. As a result, Allianz Trade has throttled back its predictions, saying that global trade in volume will grow by 2.8% in 2025 (reduced by 0.2 percentage points vs. its previous forecast) and 2.3% in 2026 (reduced by 0.5 percentage points).
The same logic applies to Allianz Trade’s forecast for export prices in U.S. dollars, which the firm has now revised downward to predict growth reaching 2.3% in 2025 (reduced by 1.7 percentage points) and 4.1% in 2026 (reduced by 0.8 percentage points).
In the meantime, the rush to frontload imports into the U.S. is giving freight carriers an early Christmas present. According to Allianz Trade, data released last week showed Chinese exports rising by a robust 6.7% y/y in November. And imports of some consumer goods that have been threatened with a likely 25% tariff under the new Trump administration have outperformed even more, growing by nearly 20% y/y on average between July and September.
Declaring that it is furthering its mission to advance supply chain excellence across the globe, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) today announced the launch of seven new International Roundtables.
The new groups have been established in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Toronto, Panama City, Lisbon, and Sao Paulo. They join CSCMP’s 40 existing roundtables across the U.S. and worldwide, with each one offering a way for members to grow their knowledge and practice professional networking within their state or region. Overall, CSCMP roundtables produce over 200 events per year—such as educational events, networking events, or facility tours—attracting over 6,000 attendees from 3,000 companies worldwide, the group says.
“The launch of these seven Roundtables is a testament to CSCMP’s commitment to advancing supply chain innovation and fostering professional growth globally,” Mark Baxa, President and CEO of CSCMP, said in a release. “By extending our reach into Latin America, Canada and enhancing our European Union presence, and beyond, we’re not just growing our community—we’re strengthening the global supply chain network. This is how we equip the next generation of leaders and continue shaping the future of our industry.”
The new roundtables in Mexico City and Monterrey will be inaugurated in early 2025, following the launch of the Guadalajara Roundtable in 2024, said Javier Zarazua, a leader in CSCMP’s Latin America initiatives.
“As part of our growth strategy, we have signed strategic agreements with The Logistics World, the largest logistics publishing company in Latin America; Tec Monterrey, one of the largest universities in Latin America; and Conalog, the association for Logistics Executives in Mexico,” Zarazua said. “Not only will supply chain and logistics professionals benefit from these strategic agreements, but CSCMP, with our wealth of content, research, and network, will contribute to enhancing the industry not only in Mexico but across Latin America.”
Likewse, the Lisbon Roundtable marks the first such group in Portugal and the 10th in Europe, noted Miguel Serracanta, a CSCMP global ambassador from that nation.
In response to booming e-commerce volumes, investors are currently building $9 billion worth of warehousing and distribution projects under construction in the U.S., with nearly 25% of the activity attributed to one company alone—Amazon.
The measure comes from a report by the Texas-based market analyst firm Industrial Info Resources (IIR), which said that Amazon is responsible for $2 billion in warehousing and distribution projects across the U.S., buoyed by the buildout of fulfillment centers--facilities that help process orders and ship products directly to end customers, ensuring deliveries of online goods from retailers to buyers.
That investment is inspired by U.S. Census Bureau data showing $300.1 billion in a preliminary estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for third-quarter 2024, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, compared to $287.5 million in the first quarter, and an increase of 7.4% compared with third-quarter 2023. In addition, e-commerce sales accounted for 16.2% of total retail sales in the third quarter of this year, the report said.